Ask a Lawyer – Episode 535

Added: 2026-05-07

[00:00:01][music] [music] [music] >> Well, hello there once again and welcome to Ask a Lawyer on CP24. My name John Scholes. Joining me momentarily employment lawyer Lior Samfiru. Always telling you to reach out to Lior anytime you have any problems in the workplace.

[00:00:33]Don't listen to your friends, your neighbors, co-workers, or especially not the employer if you're being let go.

[00:00:37]Reach out to Lior, right? The phone number 1-855-821-5900.

[00:00:42]Again, 1-855-821-5900.

[00:00:46]Ask an employment lawyer.ca through email as well. We have a ton of stuff to get through again this week. We have phone calls. We have emails. We have a main topic. We're going to check out the Pocket Employment Lawyer website and uh run you through the severance calculator a couple times. That's all coming up.

[00:01:00]Main topic this week, what you need to do to get a fair severance package. That is the big question that we all want answered. We'll get to that uh in the second segment. But first, Lior, you always start us off with the week that was or case of the day, something you wanted to bring to the table to to get the show rolling, pal. What you got this week?

[00:01:17]A lot to cover this week, John. So many things we want to do to inform and educate uh our viewers with respect to this very very important topic. When it comes to law and legal obligations, it's probably one of the most relevant ones, employment law, right? Because we have jobs. We all work. We spend more time at work than we spend doing anything else.

[00:01:36]So, that's why we have to know what our rights are.

[00:01:39]Things are not always going to be hunky-dory and and rosy. Sometimes there's going to be issues, problems, conflict, but the law is there. We've seen it all. We know what to do, and the law can help you if you're dealing with a workplace issue. You don't have to deal with it alone. There are answers and solutions and ways to make things better, whether you're dealing with a wrongful dismissal, constructive dismissal, human rights violation, harassment, bullying, you name it. We can help. The law can help. And beyond the 30 minutes to get that help directly for for us to roll up our sleeves, get to work, and help you resolve your workplace issue, just reach out by phone or email, and we'll give you that contact information throughout the show so that we can have that private conversation. But case of the day where I always like to start off just cuz I think there's an important lesson there to be learned by everyone watching. So, I spoke with a lady who had been working with the same company as a marketing consultant for the last 5 years. Now, when she was first hired 5 years ago, she was she was hired as a consultant, and she was working there occasionally.

[00:02:43]They would call her with some issues or questions or and she would help them with certain marketing initiatives. She would probably work once or twice a week for a few hours at a time, sometimes even less than that.

[00:02:53]Now, moving forward over time, her role became more and more important. And after about 2 years of working there, yes, she was now working full-time and exclusively for them.

[00:03:05]Uh and fast forward now 3 years. For the last 3 years she's been working there exclusively for them uh Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 5:00. Recently they let her go. Um restructuring with the company, nothing wrong with what she did. And they said, "Well, you're a consultant. You're not an employee.

[00:03:20]You've always been a consultant since we hired you, so we're not going to we don't owe you any severance. We're just going to wish you all the best." She called me and she wanted to understand her rights. So, here's the thing, John.

[00:03:30]Yes, when they first hired her, she wasn't an employee, right? She was a consultant. She had other clients. She worked there occasionally when they needed her. It wasn't an employment situation. Over time, that changed.

[00:03:43]After about 2 years, she now became their employee in the eyes of the law.

[00:03:47]She worked just for them. She didn't work for anyone else. Regular hours. She They told her what to do, etc. So, for the last 3 years, she was an employee.

[00:03:56]Doesn't matter what she signed or did not sign. She was an employee being misclassified as a contractor. So, now that they let her go, yeah, they owe her severance because she's an employee. For her, that's probably about 5 or 6 months of severance that they owe her. So, I want to remind everyone out there, this is very common to be misclassified, to be told or called a contractor when you're not, or a consultant. If you look like an employee and act like an employee, you're going to be an employee every time, and the company can't change that. And that's especially important when you lose your job because if you're an employee, John, you know this, you're owed severance. Quickly, Lior, and now looking back for the calculation, would the severance go right back to day one when she was hired as a consultant or fast forward 2 years at when she was like 5 days a week?

[00:04:48]Yeah, it it it goes back to when she really became an employee in the eyes of the law. So, if that happened after about 2 years, then then she's going to be an employee for the for that period of time, for the last 3 years only.

[00:04:59]Because for the first 2 years she wasn't an employee. So, for her, 3 years, yeah, 5 to 6 months severance still is going to be owed to her. Nicely cleared up.

[00:05:08]Let's get to a phone call. Again, it's from employmentlawyer.ca. Find a radio show close to you in the market, and you can join us as well. Here we go.

[00:05:15]I was a permanent part-time employee, and our department were told that there were going to be uh four positions laid off. I worked for the firm for 4 years, accounting clerk, 53. And they have uh given me a uh severance package. I was told it would be in my bank account this past week, but it was not.

[00:05:38]You know what I hope didn't happen here, John, is I hope she didn't actually sign off on a severance package because there's a great chance that whatever it is that they offered her is not even close to being enough. That's what happens in 90% of cases. So, this is uh sounds like a very typical situation. Company decides to cut some costs, lets go of people. Well, guess what? They have significant severance obligations to their employees. And it's not a week per year, and it's not 2 weeks per year. It's significantly more. So, what she can do and what everyone can do is use the severance calculator to find out how much severance is owed. Let's do that right now and this and see exactly what severance is owed. And of course, you can find the severance calculator at pocketemploymentlawyer.ca.

[00:06:23]So, she's an accounting clerk at the age of 53, been there for 4 years. The severance that she's owed is 6 months, okay? That's more than a month per year.

[00:06:34]That's why you go to the severance calculator. That's why you do that before you accept anything. If you go there after, it's too late. So, do the right thing, pocketemploymentlawyer.ca.

[00:06:45]Thank you, Lior. With that, we've come up on a break. We'll take a short break into our main topic, what you need to do to get a fair severance package. This is hugely important stuff, so stay with us as we continue Ask a Lawyer on CP24.

[00:06:57]Lost your job? Disability denied? Ask a Lawyer is here for you. Each week, [music] experts from employmentlawyer.ca answer your questions. Visit cp24.com/askalawyer and watch Mondays and Wednesdays at 9:00 p.m. [music] on CP24.

[00:07:15]>> [music] [music] >> All right, Ask a Lawyer continues on CP24. Reach out to Lior anytime. You should be 1-855-821-5900 by phone. Email is askanemploymentlawyer.ca.

[00:07:36]You can also use that QR code on the right side of your screen anytime as well. We have We've gotten to our main topic. It's a really important one.

[00:07:43]They're Well, they're all important every week, Lior, but this one especially, and that's what you need to do to get a fair severance package. So, if you don't know any of these points, listen up. The first one is huge. Do not sign anything, regardless of how much pressure is being applied to you by your employer, right?

[00:07:58]Well, yeah, the first thing and the main thing to do to get proper severance is not to accept inadequate severance. So, your employer is going to offer you severance in most cases.

[00:08:08]That severance is not adequate. That severance is a lot less than what you're owed. In most cases, it's not even close. But if you don't know that and you feel the pressure and you accept it, you're going to give up your rights.

[00:08:21]Every single week, sometimes multiple times a week, I hear from individuals that have signed off on that severance, realize that they've made a mistake, and are asking me to help them.

[00:08:31]Unfortunately, I cannot help in that situation. Once you've accepted that severance offer, it's not possible to get out of it in most cases. Yes, I know there's a deadline. Don't worry about that deadline. That deadline doesn't mean anything because your rights don't expire on that arbitrary date. So, don't worry about that pressure tactic. Get some legal advice. You're going to give up your rights. That's not a way to get your full severance. The second point uh Lior with this topic is go over your employment contract. Now, if you never had an employment contract, we like that, too. That's even better. But if you have one, make sure you go over it, yeah?

[00:09:03]You said it perfectly, John. If you never sign an employment contract, an employment agreement, you're a happy person. The reason for that is there's nothing limiting your severance. An employment agreement can try to limit your severance. So, one of the first things you want to do is get a hold, find a copy of your employment agreement. Maybe you signed it 6 months ago, maybe a few years ago. We want to see it. There's a chance that that agreement tries to limit your entitlements, and we need to review that. Now, just because it tries to limit your entitlements, doesn't mean that it does so. Doesn't mean that it actually has the effect of limiting uh limiting your your severance, but we need to review it. Without having that agreement, it's going to be very hard to properly assess what you're owed. So, getting a copy of that agreement, even if you have to ask your employer for it, very helpful so that we can move ahead and get that full severance. Finally, Lior, the uh the third point about this about getting proper severance, what you need to do or don't do is sign anything anything as we mentioned before talking to Lior and other employment lawyer. Do not.

[00:10:04]Yeah, so you got to get some legal advice. You absolutely have to. We need to properly assess what you're owed and then put in a strategy in place to get you what you're owed. In many cases it's not a complicated process. It requires the company to hear from us so that we can say wait a second company. This severance that you're offered is not adequate. Here's why and here's what the real amount is. Once the company hears from us, they do what they're supposed to do, they pay that proper severance and we move on. But you can't do that on your own. So I've said this before. If for some reason you don't like me, okay, contact another employment lawyer. But otherwise reach out. Let's have that discussion and assessment and get that severance that you're owed. Usually in a few weeks this is all done, it's over.

[00:10:48]You get the proper amount which could be five or 10 times what you've been offered because that's what the law says you should be getting. And that will cover off the main topic for this week Lior, but I think we still got some time for a phone call. So let's listen in and and talk about that too.

[00:11:02]I've been 33 years as a truck driver.

[00:11:04]Three people got let go or quit on my shift. That used to be four people. I'm now the only person on this shift and I have to do the bulk of the work for the people that are there and it's been a year. They have not hired anybody back and my workload has gotten worse and worse and worse. And is that really fair because now I'm working [snorts] longer.

[00:11:24]What can I do about that?

[00:11:27]So John, not only is it not fair, it's potentially illegal. And here's why.

[00:11:31]This person when they accepted this job, they signed up for a certain job. I'm going to have this these responsibilities, this workload. That was the deal. What the company now has decided to change that deal. All of a sudden he's going to be doing the work of three or four other people. They're changing that workload. It's not what he signed up for. He signed up for job one, now he's doing job one times four.

[00:11:55]That's not the deal. And anytime the the deal changes as your employer changes your job in a significant way, that could be a constructive dismissal.

[00:12:04]Constructive dismissal happens when your employer changes your terms of employment in a big way. That is certainly a big change. So his options now are yeah, he can continue doing the job of four people and hope for the best or he can say no. Enough is enough.

[00:12:20]That's not the deal, that's not okay.

[00:12:22]I'm going to treat this as a termination as a constructive dismissal and make you pay me my full severance. That could be quite a few months of pay that he's owed. So if he or anyone else in that situation want to pursue a constructive dismissal, not a problem. Just reach out and we'll make it happen. If you've watched a show before, you may realize that often what happens with employment matters is they become disability matters when the two combine. Well, Lior and the team have you covered. The other half of what the firm does is disability law. We're going to cover that on the other side of the break as we continue Ask a Lawyer on CP24.

[00:12:56]Lost your job? Disability denied? Ask a Lawyer is here for you. Each week experts from employmentlawyer.ca answer your questions. Visit cp24.com/askalawyer and watch [music] Mondays and Wednesdays at 9:00 p.m. on CP24.

[00:13:14]>> [music] >> And we are back with more Ask a Lawyer.

[00:13:25]This is CP24. Thank you very much for joining us again this week. John Scholes here and Lior Samfiru employmentlawyer.ca. To reach out to Lior and the other half of his team by the way, very capable on the disability side. To reach out them as as you should, same phone number 1-855-821-5900.

[00:13:42]For the purpose of this segment though, it's going to be [email protected].

[00:13:47]Lior, I did mention it that you guys cover off that half of the business, but tell me a little more about what you cover as it pertains to what you do, right?

[00:13:55]Yes, so John, when you're off on a disability leave, when you can't work, when you're sick, you still have to have some income, right? You still cuz you still bills to pay, you still financial obligations. You can't afford to just not have income. Well, because of that there's various ways to get income, disability benefits. Often times it's through an insurance policy that you may have through work, short-term disability or long-term disability.

[00:14:17]There's also various government benefits you can qualify for when you're not able to work for a long period of time. So while it's a great thing to have these benefits, in too many cases and way too often, they don't pay when they should.

[00:14:31]Either the insurance company doesn't want to pay and they find ways to cut you off or deny you benefits or those government benefits deny you as well and you're left there saying, "Oh my god, what do I do now? I can't work, but I'm not getting these benefits that I'm supposed to be getting." Well, as bad as that sounds, there's a solution, there is help. We deal with that every single day. We have a whole team dedicated to helping those individuals that are not getting those disability benefits when they should be getting them. Often time it's when they're cut off or denied even though the doctor that they have still says they're sick, they're unable to work. If that resonates with you or anyone you know, if your benefits have stopped or they never started when they should have, I want you to reach out.

[00:15:14]Our team will get to work immediately to help you get those benefits so that you can have that money while you're getting better and trying to get healthy. As always Lior, I have an email question momentarily, but I want to get first to a listener question from one of the radio shows as it pertains to the disability side as well. So listen up.

[00:15:32]I've been off work for almost two years because of ongoing mental health issues.

[00:15:37]My insurer just told me they don't think there's enough medical evidence to keep paying my long-term disability benefits.

[00:15:44]They say I should be able to do some other kind of work now. The problem is my doctors completely disagree. This whole situation is adding a lot of stress and making things worse. What are my options?

[00:15:58]Now John, that's one of the insurance company's favorite reasons to give to cut off benefits saying there's just not enough medical information. If we had more medical information, maybe then we'll allow you to continue getting benefits. Well, no. You don't need all medical information. If you're unable to work and your doctor's supporting you and says, "No, you can't work. You're dealing with a serious medical issue."

[00:16:20]That should be enough. Yeah, I know you can't see mental health issues on an x-ray or an MRI machine.

[00:16:27]It doesn't make them any less real.

[00:16:29]There it's real, it could be debilitating and for an insurance company to say, "Oh, we just don't know enough." It's nonsense. They do know enough. They're choosing to ignore it. So if you can't work and your doctor's telling you can't work, don't even try. You're not well enough. That insurance company should pay you and they will pay you once they hear from us. Once we get involved and we call them on their nonsense, they will do what they have to. They're hoping to get away with it. Don't let them get away with it. Let's make sure that you get those benefits and of course it starts by reaching out as soon as there's an issue. We appreciate that caller with that question Lior. I want to get to the email question now. It is this. What's the biggest mistake people make when dealing with their long-term disability insurance company?

[00:17:13]And John, I hate saying this, but the biggest mistake they make is they assume that the insurance company is on their side. They assume that they're on their side and because of that they take whatever the insurance company says for granted. The insurance company says you have to do this, okay. The insurance company says you don't qualify for this, okay. The insurance company denies their appeal, okay. There's nothing I can do because if the insurance company says they must know that they're there to support me. No. The insurance company is not on your side. Their job is to not have to pay, not to spend the money, to come up with a reason and a basis not to pay benefits. You have to remember that.

[00:17:52]It's not a friendly relationship in most cases. So if you're dealing with an insurance company, don't take their word for granted. Don't do what they say just because they said it. Let's talk. Let's make sure that you do the right thing so you preserve your rights, your benefits and that you don't get give the company the the insurance company a reason to cut you off. They're not on your side.

[00:18:14]They're there to look after themselves.

[00:18:15]So you have to look after yourself. Well done my friend. We'll take a one more short break and we'll climb back underneath the employment law tent and wrap it up with a phone call again this week. So stay with us. We have more Ask a Lawyer coming up.

[00:18:27]Lost your job? Disability denied? Ask a Lawyer is here for you. Each week [music] experts from employmentlawyer.ca answer your questions. Visit cp24.com/askalawyer and p.m. on CP24. [music] >> [music] >> Welcome back Ask a Lawyer CP24. Want to remind you anytime immediately following the show or anytime after that, reach out to Lior and the team with your employment law matters. Phone number 1-855-821-5900 [email protected].

[00:19:10]And we are going where we usually go at the end of the show every week Lior, that is to a listener phone call. So let's get to that right now.

[00:19:17]I worked for a company for 33 years. A new company came in, took over the old company and they made us sign a one year contract. Keep my same job, keep my same position. After one year if they decide to let us all go, do they pay us one year or do they pay me 34 years?

[00:19:33]Great question.

[00:19:35]So what happens if a company buys a business and you continue working with that new company is they inherit your service. So down the road if they let you go and they have to pay you severance based on all the years that you had before. So in this case if the company lets him go at some point, they have to account for the 34 years in paying that severance. But, there's another nuance to this case. They've put him on a 12-month contract, so they're telling him, "12 months from now, you're going to be out of a job." They're giving him 12 months notice. That 12-months notice counts towards his severance, but he's still going to be owed more to make up the difference. So, we're going to go once more to the severance calculator. You can find that at pocketemploymentlawyer.ca, and let's see what that gives us. So, he's a 59-year-old, been there for 33 years. Man, that's a long period of time.

[00:20:24]Uh the company's giving him 12 months notice through that 12-month contract.

[00:20:27]That counts towards his entitlements, but his full entitlements, as you see at the bottom, is 20 to 24 months. So, they still owe him another 10 to 12 months pay to make up that difference. So, remember, if that happens and the business is sold, but the best advice I'm going to give you, if you're getting a job offer from a new from a buyer, let me see that offer before you accept it to make sure you're not giving up your rights. Was this employer kind of hoping that the one year would cover them off, and they wouldn't have to pay the, you know, severance for 33 prior years? Is that the thinking there?

[00:21:01]That's exactly what they're hoping. For some people, if they had less service, they may have been right. They may cover off most or if not all of the severance.

[00:21:09]If this guy had been there for 10 years, then the 12 months would have covered off that severance. He's been there for 33 years. 12 months is about half of what he's owed. So, that's why you always get that legal advice. A lot of people have to say, "Yeah, you got 12 months notice. That's enough." Of course, it's not enough for him. He's owed twice that. That's why we're here, and that's why you got to reach out. And that is why we're just about done for the uh for the week, Lior. Thank you so much, and thank you for uh watching, as well. You can always reach out and learn more online, employmentlawyer.ca.

[00:21:39]Remember the pocket employmentlawyer.ca website, where you're going to find that severance calculator, free of charge.

[00:21:44]It's anonymous. And finally, the phone call and email, uh as well.

[00:21:47]1-855-821-5900.

[00:21:49][music] Ask at employmentlawyer.ca.

[00:21:53]Anything else at the cp24.com/askalawyer.

[00:21:55][music] We'll see you next week.

[00:22:04]>> [music] [music]